Review: Gossip – Music For Men
Gossip – Music For Men (2009) [Columbia] // Grade: B
Rick Rubin steps in and seamlessly mixes The Gossip’s earlier Blues based Punk swagger with their more recent (and less successful) attempts at Dance-Punk. The contrived and clunky nature of 2006′s Standing In the Way of Control has worked itself out into a confident, soulful and disco-tinged album that fits to Beth Ditto’s larger than life persona like a rhinestone boot over torn up fishnets.
The production is clean and accessible without ever toning down the band’s edge and most importantly rarely stumbles across the albums 12 tracks. Rubin wisely capitalizes on the band’s inherent strengths by taking a page from the Blondie playbook by fusing their seedy charm with some polished glitz in a strikingly organic way. Like the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s It’s Blitz, Music For Men is the sound of a band growing into themselves as pop stars… And while it is less adventurous than It’s Blitz, it is more evenly consistent.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I’ve made my decision: If you’re going to continue to review 10+ albums per week, I think it’s imperative that Mishka start putting out a Bloglin podcast where working shmoes like myself can sample some of the good-goods.
I mean, come on: you’ve got a few extra hours per week just lying around, right?
Either way, your prolificacy is impressive. That’s what she said.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:13 am
But you can sample each album/band with the link under their name to their Myspace. It’s rare for one of the bands I review to not have a few of the tracks posted from their new albums.
Also we discussed doing a sample song… some people actually emailed and requested it. But truth be told we don’t have the artist’s permission to upload one of their tracks, so i’d rather not get into the habit of doing that or upset a label or artist by doing it, when again a Myspace link is always included with each review
June 30th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Haha. Once again my charming sarcastic nature gets the better of me in a comments thread. I totally get it. COMPLETELY. I was just being an 8am whiner for a minute. I didn’t, however, know that there were sample tracks at the Insound link, so I’ll be sure to check it out…thanks for the heads up. Thought it was a direct link to Pay Now or something. I dunno.
Even if I WAS being serious, I was thinking more of like a podcast-as-radio show where you like talked, reviewed albums, interviewed these folks…you know. Pure fantasy. Pure bullshit, uprooted from any semblance of reality.
Sorry for sounding like a wank. Have a good day.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I didn’t know there were samples at the insound links actually… that may be an album by album basis and not for everything. Those buttons just take you directly to the album on insound.
As if i don’t have enough to do without adding Bloglin Podcast to the plate!
June 30th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I gave this a pretty bad review. I thought it was hollow and dull. Everyone can play their instrument well but ultimately every song the Gossip has ever done has sounded exactly the same and I think it sounds cheap and chintzy.
June 30th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
When people describe music as “product” I imagine this kind of shit.
June 30th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
thanks for sharing Nick